Chapter 32: Sympathy From a Friend│Read translated stories and daily updates at: Awebstories.com
“Mark, did you bring me some fruit? Thank you.”
“Go ahead, Mother, put some in your mouth.”
Queen Verna sat up, leaned back against the cushions, and examined the plate placed before her.
“It looks delicious.”
“Yes, they should all be tasty—please pick whatever you want.”
Several fruits, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces, were on the platter. Sweet and sour hawthorns, juicy poncas, sticky nektas, large ripe mulberries, fragrant green grapes
“Ponca, then,” the queen said, picking a ponca from Mark’s plate and putting it in her mouth.
“Oh, it’s delicious. I haven’t had such delicious food in a long time.”
After a while, the maids sigh in relief behind him.
“What’s wrong? Mother didn’t have much to eat?”
A maid replied, “No. After eating, the queen—”
“—I vomited more frequently.”
“Mother…”
“But this one doesn’t make me nauseous. Thank you, Mark.”
“I’ll bring you some more.”
The queen ate all of the fruit and leaned back on her cushion, satisfied. Prince Marks handed the plate to a maid, and then dismissed all maids present with the words, “Step back for a moment.”
“Is this important?”
“Yes, Mother, can you leave it to me without question?”
The Queen nodded kindly. Seeing this, Mark took a folded white cloth from the inside pocket of his jacket and gently wrapped it around the queen’s head twice. The queen did not ask any questions, but instead touched her fingertips to the cloth wrapped around her head.
“What a beautiful piece of silk.”
“It’s a cloth with a healing wish put on it. It was given to me by a friend.”
“Oh, my. You had a friend like that.”
The queen’s face lit up with delight.
“You became involved in politics at a young age—I assumed Gil was your only friend. So Gil isn’t your only friend… Eh? Oh?”
As Mark sat down on the bed next to her, the queen’s eyes widened, and she grabbed his arm.
“What’s wrong? Are you feeling any discomfort? Mother!”
“It’s gone… The headache that has plagued me for so long. It’s no longer there! And the nausea has subsided. What did you do, Mark?”
Prince Mark, who had wrapped the cloth around her head, blinked for a moment before beginning to laugh.
“This is, this is…”
“Mark?”
“Please don’t tell anyone about this cloth, Mother. Neither my father, nor the maids, nor any of my siblings. I made a promise to a friend. I’m not going to tell anyone about the cloth. But I didn’t think it would come to this either.”
For a while, the queen stood there, nervously removing the silk cloth from her head.
“After the cloth is removed, the pain and nausea do not appear to return—It’s nothing short of miraculous. Are you going to tell me what’s going on, Mark?”
“I, too, am unaware of the specifics. Let’s take it off if the pain doesn’t return. If you leave it wrapped around you, the maids will become suspicious. If the pain comes back, I’ll wrap it again.”
Mark folded the silk cloth and tucked it into his pocket.
“Oh, Mark, how wonderful it is to be free of pain! I’ll realize how much pain I’ve been in when the headache goes away.”
“Mother—I’m so glad.”
Mark smiles as he holds the Queen’s hand. His mother’s face has improved significantly.
“Mark.”
“Yes, Mother.”
“I’m awfully hungry. Please get me something to drink and some food. I just want so much food. I’m dying of thirst!”
Mark burst into tears of laughter.
“Mother, yes. I’ll have them delivered to you right away! I’ll start with something soft so your tummy doesn’t startle.”
—○
My mother, who was thin and bony, was laughing. I haven’t seen her smile like this for a long time.
—○
Mark said to the maids who were waiting in the hallway, “My mother’s hunger has returned. Pick out my mother’s favorites. No, let the head chef take care of that.”
“Yes!”
Two maids walk down the corridor as quickly as they can. One will most likely go to the kitchen, while the other will most likely report to His Majesty the King.
“Don’t fall.”
He wiped the corners of his eyes with his fingertips as he spoke.
“Alesia. Who the hell are you?”
The queen is eating a hearty meal that was brought to her. The king rushes in, horrified by his wife’s meal.
“V-Verna. Are you sure you can eat so much in such a short period of time? Aren’t you overeating? Don’t you feel sick?”
“Fufu. This isn’t even enough, Your Majesty. But I think I’ll have to put up with this for the time being.”
Finally, the queen said, after drinking some warm, sweet coconut juice, “I feel sleepy after eating.” She then fell asleep.
“What happened, Mark?”
“I’m not sure either. I was talking to my mother when the pain vanished.”
“How is that possible?”
“It is possible. I, too, was taken aback.”
That time. Senesh, the head cook, was instructed to serve the food again after everything had been cleaned up and the fire extinguished, and he questioned the maids about the plates that had been returned to them.
“The queen definitely ate it, didn’t she? Not His Highness. All of it? All of it?! What?! You didn’t see it? What the hell. Which one is it?!”
“It’s delicious, according to the queen. She says she’s looking forward to breakfast tomorrow.”
“Hahaha, oh my goodness! That’s great. That’s fantastic!”
Senesch laughed, and his face was brighter than it had been in a long time.
Mark had Gil deliver a letter the next day.
According to the letter, “I am extremely grateful—I’d like to express my gratitude. I’ll do whatever you want. And I’m curious about that cloth.”
Gil returned to inform him that Alesia had politely declined his gratitude.
Alesia also handed Gil a letter. “This is for your highness…”
Mark hurriedly opened it.
[I hope I was of assistance to Your Highness. Please keep the cloth hidden. All I ask is that.]
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